The kinsmen of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have on Thursday thrown their weight behind the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Declaring their support, the group said they were fully convinced the Muslim-Muslim ticket should not be a factor in next year’s election.
It would be recalled that Dogara, who represents the Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, has risen and worked against the same-faith ticket of the APC.
Because of his party’s decision, Dogara decamped from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party, where he expressed support for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
But his kinsmen from Dass, Tafawa Balewa, and Bogoro, local government areas which make up his constituency, in a rally declared for Tinubu; his running mate, Kashim Shettima; the governorship candidate of the APC, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.); and other candidates of the APC in the state.
The supporters, under the umbrella of “Bogoro, Dass, and Tafawa Balewa Christian Support Group for APC,” said they rallied to tell their presidential candidate and the party that they would go house-to-house to mobilise support ahead of the general elections.
One of the organisers of the rally and former aspirant of Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro, Dr Godfrey Manasseh, gave reason for their support of Tinubu, citing his achievements in Lagos State when he was governor.
He said, “We are here today as Christians from this constituency to declare that we have decided collectively to support the Jagaban Nigeria. We have endorsed all candidates, including Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
“Our resolution is borne out of several factors, a few of which include the fact that Jagaban, as the governor of Lagos State, was able to raise men who are Nigerians. Jagaban alone is an institution.
“He also has a wife who is a Christian, and he is a Muslim.”
Manasseh said “ the APC allowed us to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives; under the APC, this constituency has gotten many projects, including the Air Force University, roads, and others; we also had our brother and father, Prof. Elias Bogoro, become the Executive Secretary of the TETFund.”
